This Side of the Wall
by meepet1
Summary: Extremely high walls keep a large town safe. No mobs, no criminals, just peace. Everyone is happy, the only thing to keep people entertained is spreading rumors to gossip about. No one has ever left the town, because they know it is safer here. If there is a crime, it is dealt with the moment it happens - but the criminals never come back. No one ever comes back.
1. I

*****Chapter 3 preview available now*****

**Hey! If you like my story, go ahead and tell me in the reviews and anything you want changed or just shit on it in general. i plan on making this have a lot of chapters (each being at least 2,000 words or more), so a follow is ****appreciated! I will post quality chapters and not just pump out rushed chapters, so I will take my time with each. K bye**

"STEVEN!" Zach shouted, sprinting like it was a life or death situation. Steven turned away from his precious iron working, and left his tools on the anvil, the blade still orange and bright from the smelting and shaping.

'Stevens shack' was the go-to place for any smithing needs, such as daily necessities like the shovel, the pickaxe, and, on occasion, a sword or two. The shack was a cozy yet dirty structure that sat conveniently in the center of town, ready for all the farm folk to come in with needs of repairs. the partly cloudy sky carried-on, care free and flowing. Steven saw zach sprinting down the street, a concerned look scattered about on his face.

"...hi." Steven puzzled, as zach rushed at the doorway, panting and huffing, trying to catch the breath and the words that eluded him. 'The... They...' Zach wheezed, as he tried to upright himself, gripping the door frame.

"C'mon. Let it out."

"How much food do you have?"

"Uh, what?"

"They are running out of food, I don't know what to say!" Zach blurted out his answer as if he was a child confessing to his parents about breaking the nice vase in the living room. Steven was extremely curious; the commander of the town always bolstered how safe and secure his little, walled utopia was, and how everyone would receive their own pay check, their own meals, and their own beds, without the creatures lurking about, thanks to the godly, large stone walls.

"...really?"

Steven paused, and Waited for the 'got you!' To come out of his friends' stupid mouth. It didn't appear, as much as he wanted it to. "First, missing people, and now a shortage of food? Who is telling you this stuff anyway?" for a moment, Zach peeked out the door, looked about the street like he was a spy, and then turned back to Steven, with a quieter tone in his voice. "Colin told me."

Steven half rolled his eyes like a lazy roller coaster. "He keeps spying on the guards, you knew that."

"Yes I knew that!" Zach raised his voice, caught himself, and then resumed his secretive, serious whisper. "The guards are just as worried though. I saw it myself, he wasn't lying. People are even starting to protest!" "So. what do you want to do?" Steven said in an uninterested tone, already knowing the answer. "We join the protest at the castle! People have been slowly gathering all day there!"

"Alright, okay."

"What do you mean, okay? This is serious!"

"How about we go tomorrow."

"Why not right now?"

Steven slowly extended his arm and pointer finger, drawing upwards and levelling to point at the anvil and the sword still posed carefully.

* * *

Above 'Stevens shack', on the second floor, Steven ran his checklist and reviewed work orders. His desk sat right at a window; summer air rolled through and laid on him like a blanket out of the dryer. It was blissful. He loved being carefree and always tried to stay out of the politics of the town, such as the rumors that have been appearing so often. Steven caught a glimpse of the dark, piano black sky above his inferior house. There was no moonlight again. The moon rarely appeared, hidden deep within the dark ocean of space. The stone walls that surrounded the town were extremely high and were commissioned by the town commander long before Steven arrived at the server. They were giant structures that loomed, suffocating and squeezing the town and its inhabitants ever since they appeared. Steven was lost in thought, thinking about the deep night sky and the cage of a town he lived in when a scream shot him forward into the desk. Steven reached for the torch on the wall, and grabbed one of the custom made swords from the chest by his bed. He bolted down the stairs and out his shop doorway. He knew he had to hurry. That scream belonged to Colin.

Steven stood outside his shop, waving his torch and spinning about, looking for the source of the shout, listening for sounds of struggle, anything to tell him where to go, but all he heard was the crunch of the gravel below his feet and the crackle of the torch he held. Steven never felt so lost, ironically standing in the town he knew like the back of his hand. With no moonlight, the torch provided his vision; The black ooze of night was polished onto the buildings, out of his torches reach. Steven took one step forward, and as if magically, a guard appeared. Steven took two steps back, looked for Colin to be behind or around the guard. He didn't appear.

"Where's Colin." Stevens expression changed to anger. He knew the guards were not going to protect his clumsy, nosy friend, rather arrest him for spreading the rumors.

"Where is Colin." Steven raised his voice.

"None of your business. This is on offi-"

"Don't try and play your 'Official orders' card on me, I'm not stupid." Steven saw the guard had dark, bitter eyes that bested him, but steven knew this staring contest was ending when the guard gripped his sheathed swords' handle.

"Okay. You win. I'm going. Just don't hurt him."

"I won't, at least." The guard smirked.

steven opened his mouth slightly, he was ready to wake the town and cause an uproar, he was ready to charge at the guard who was wearing a full set of armor while he wore only his work clothes, he was ready to slash his sword right at the guards head, he was ready to fight and find colin and be on his way like nothing ever happened. the guard was still clutching the handle, ready to brandish his sword and let it reflect off of stevens torch; it became apparent that there was no way for him to find out his friends fate with the current situation - he was a coward. but he was a coward with a mouth.

steven turned away, anger burning like coals within him from the guards remark.

as Steven was turning around, the guard called out.

"Yeah, walk away, you punk shitsmith."

Steven slowly turned back as he spoke. "Oh. You got me. That one was good. I'm impressed! Is this what you do when you are not dicking about on your shift of policing a peaceful town with no crime rate?"

"You really want to test a trained soldier?"

"Go ahead, stab me, lose your job that you don't even do anything in."

"First of all, i get paid a lot to do nothing. its not bad, unlike your piece of shit work."

"My 'piece of shit work' made the sword you are holding."

"I'm sure it will work when i cut you up!"

The guard stepped forward, frustrated and flustered with stevens quick words, but even quicker was steven himself, slamming the door behind him, knowing the guard would have to walk away and tend to his 'official business'.

Steven was back inside his shop, defeated in a battle that never occurred. he felt a defeat that he had not felt before, a swelling inside of him crashed like the anvils that rang out his ears each day from nine to six.

* * *

Colin was still missing the next morning. Steven believed the rumors now, but he didn't expect the guards to have something to do with it. The sky was a nice blue again, the peaceful little town quiet, same as all the other days. However, today showed a bit of difference, another crowd gathered around the castle to demand answers to the food shortage rumors. The castle made the town feel ancient; it was there before the town formed around it. Moss and vines hung about, strung throughout the cobble structure. But it was the perfect disguise, the inside was remodeled to be the town hall, with incredible focus on detail and expensive rugs, which made the town look almost uncivilized. The castle was quiet as the town shouted to it, as if trying to get the fortress to respond. Just outside was the commander himself, decorated with all his badges that he didn't earn and his gold sword in tow, which couldn't help him win in a fight, as it was only there for looks. Beside him stood two guards, armed, and standing ready, knowing the town was too scared to get close. Zach and Steven were in the back of the crowd listening in, but Steven was planning his grand entrance, waiting for his moment to strike with his voice. He wasn't worried about the food shortage, he was worried about his friend.

"Quiet down!" The commander shouted, veins pulsing in his neck, his red, plump face ready to catch fire. The crowd was ready for answers, they had their fun shouting, as they found it exciting to do something other than their daily routine for once. The crowd settled down and listened, hushed by the commanders power.

"Now, we know you are all here due to the food shortage, but I can confirm that you will have your share of food, their is just not going to be a lot of extra, in case of emergency." Steven raised an eyebrow and showed how unimpressed he was, he knew the castle was just going to keep it for their stupid guards. "There is nothing to fear, we have it under control!" The commander gave a big smile, and the crowd rejoiced, They were easily convinced and easily pleased; they had a peaceful life thanks to the walls. Steven, angered by the townspeople and the command, pushed his way through the oblivious citizens, shrugged off zachs grip to not speak out, and shouted.

"Where is Colin!"

The commanders beaming smile fell off of his face and shattered on the ground, revealing how fraud his assuring smile was.

"Um, who?"

"Your guards took him. You arrested him, didn't you." Steven quickly glanced behind him, the crowd curiously hearing every word spoken from him, as if he was putting on a show.

"Your stupid guards took him somewhere. You all act so high and mighty but I know something's up. Release him."

"Or what?" One of the guards barked at him.

"How about I come over there and show you?"

Steven spun around, Zach opened his stupid mouth and blew it. Steven took a step back and motioned for zach to shut up. It was too late, zach already gained the hearts of a few people in the crowd, who started chiming in.

"Yeah! Release that guy!"

"Yeah, what's this about?"

The crowd was having fun again, hollering and shouting, and yet Steven felt naked and helpless standing in front of the commander. Steven turned back to the commander, ready to give up.

The commanders arm was pointed at the sky, all his fingers extended upwards.

His arm slowly ticked down like a clock. At least, it felt slow, Steven was entranced by this, unable to believe what was unfolding In front of him.

Archers appeared and lined the castle walls. They all had their bows drawn and aimed in the same direction that the commanders arm was going - the crowd.

"Oh my god. Oh Christ. You can't-" still staring at the commander who was smiling again, the sharp arrowheads ripped through the air around him, tearing holes into Stevens sanity, as well as his perception. He couldn't hear, he couldn't think, he just let his body rust and he felt like ropes had fastened his very being into the ground around him. The two guards slowly walked to his sides, he felt his arms move on their own to his back, the shackles and chains tightly wounding on his wrists. He stared into his captors eyes, his mind clawing and struggling to find a soul, a mistake, a sign, a reason. All he saw was the devil.

* * *

Steven succeeded in his goal of finding Colin, but only found himself in another problem. He was in the same cell as Colin. Zach was no where to be seen. Steven slid his hand along the cold cobblestone walls as he pushed himself to stand up. He stumbled slowly to the iron bars holding him in, Colin still slumped on the wall watching with depressed emotion. It had been 5 days since the murder of 13 civilians by the commander. The commander turned against the town that day, he and his army of guards had begun a civil war that lasted for at least an hour or two until the town realized there was no way to fight back. It was a living hell above ground for those who were not arrested, but it couldn't be any better for those who were in the cells. The cells were located at the basement of the castle, and was the only part not remodeled to look new and fancy.

Colin looked down, and tried to find the strength to speak.

"We are... Probably next you know."

Steven looked down as well, as if that was the only way to converse underground.

"I know."

"It's not your fault."

"I know."

"I'm really scared, Steven."

"I know."

Colin looked to the iron bars. "Can you say anything else?"

"Not really. There is nothing else to say."

Steven looked back to Colin as he quickly changed his view to the ground again. Colins' usually rambunctious, overzealous attitude was stolen from him, and was replaced with a drowning sensation. Steven frowned and ran his hands through his brown, messy hair, and blew air out of his lungs, trying to refresh his soul.

They were not waiting to be executed.

They were waiting to be banished.


	2. II

Steven worried for his friends. He acted as the mature, wise and aggressive parent for Zach and Colin. Zach was not wise, but he was wise-cracking. Colin was a strange man, he was a puzzle to everyone who met him, including was not afraid to risk getting arrested just to create more fun rumors for the town to gossip about. Steven thought, with a hint of guilt, about how contradicting his friends were. Colin was standing and facing the corner of the cell. Steven sat, legs crossed, his back against the iron bars. four more days had gone by. Colin and Steven were 'arrested' for 'speaking out' against the command.  
Steven looked at his depressed friend.

Colin spun around with vigor, his eyes bursting open.

A foot hit the iron bars where Steven was sitting, knocking him over and making him grab at his back, trying to swat away the pain.

"Oh hi again, shitsmith. You miss me?"

Steven saw why Colin was so worried - this was his captor.

"Guess where I'm taking you! Go on, take a wild guess!"  
A sadistic smile twisted across the guards face.  
"Times up for answers! You two are headed to the passage, and I get to pull the switch this time!"  
During his confinement, Steven would always overhear the guards; he would listen to their conversations, and worked to put the pieces together about 'the passage'. The passage was where people could leave the town. The mechanism, Steven figured, worked like this: a prisoner/citizen is put in a small room. With the pull of a lever, the doors close and, once they reopen, the occupants are gone, supposedly on the opposite side of the wall. Steven shuddered at the thought, recollecting his memories of the constant gossip and rumors spread about town; "just hope starvation gets to you first".

* * *

Another clear blue sky, no clouds again. Colin was ready to panic, his mind on the edge of the world he knew, literally and figuratively. The sky was split in half from Stevens view as he looked upwards along the 40 meter high wall, one foot in the chamber and one foot still in a twisted communistic society known as the town. There never was a name for the town, as it was the only one anyone knew. Stevens sore, dark eyes couldn't handle looking back at the town; he decided to look up, let that be the last thing he saw before he left the town forever.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day." The guard with the bitter eyes kicked Steven violently into the chamber, and Steven held his eyes shut. He didn't want to see the town. A priest of some sort appeared, saying a prayer before being moved off by the guards. another guard, who sounded more forgiving than bitter eyes, stood at the doorway of the chamber. he spoke like it was run of the mill, like it was just another day at the office.

"Once the doors open, you have a grace period of 3 minutes to leave the chamber. If you fail to leave the chamber, you will be executed by the guards once the chamber doors open again. You are not allowed back, as there is no way back."

"Don't do this to me! Please don't do this to me, please, please don't do this to me..." Colin's voice began to trail off into a muffled whimper. Another guard came and released the bindings off of Steven and Colin, and in that moment, Colin kicked out at the guard, with Tears in his scared face and a panicked breathing in his weak lungs. Stevens eyes were sealed, as he saw no evil. He didn't dare move, he couldn't help, he thought, or maybe, he was too much of a coward to do anything.  
Colin was still panicking, digging a hole so deep that they might have killed him on the spot if he wasn't already in the chamber. The guard who was kicked back rushed at Colin and hit him square in the face, knocking him out cold; the guards iron greaves had met with his forehead.  
Stevens already shut eyes pushed closed harder as he flinched from hearing Colin crash down on the floor. Steven turned his head away and stayed facing the wall of the chamber; his bottom lip almost bled from how hard he was biting down on it. it was all he could really do as the doors whirred shut.  
Steven opened his eyes to find the chamber completely dark as he heard a cable above the chamber spin alive. He had to change his stance to keep his balance, and then Steven became aware.

The chamber was an elevator.

They were going down.

* * *

After a short ride, the elevator finally hit the ground. The doors on the opposite side of where Steven and Colin entered made little clicking noises, and shook alive. Steven prepared himself for whatever was out those doors.  
The doors slowly and mechanically, for what felt like a minute, slid to the sides of the chamber, revealing trees as tall as the walls - a jungle. He stepped out into the unknown.

he turned around, and saw the vines climbing up the sides of the walls. He saw the beautiful, lush greenery surrounding him at all sides. Looking down, he saw the ground was green with grass and fallen leaves. He felt shade on his body, and peered upward. The canopy acted as a ceiling, bright greens and dark greens and giant fruit growing off the sides of the tree trunks. Steven was enchanted. Everywhere he looked, his eyes were being massaged by incredible colors. He saw a pile of dark grey rocks piled up near the elevator, almost appearing alien when compared with all the greenery. He kept walking forward, peering at the incredible detail of this new world. Steven breathed in, getting as much of the foreign air as he could. His lungs sapped the energy out of the new air, and exhaled. This was pure. He closed his eyes again, and smelled the aroma of a world without walls. He listened carefully to the sounds of the jungle. He heard birds, he heard the swaying of the grass and the leaves, he even heard little clicking noises.  
Stevens eyes shot open. He sprinted back to the elevator. The doors were starting to close again. Colin was still out, frozen in time where he landed after being hit. Stevens eyes couldn't be more panicked. He grabbed the sides of the doors with his hands, trying to push them back. The doors were too strong for his coward like self. Steven had to get in and get Colin out, but he would need to stop the doors from closing, or he too, would be brought back up to the town to be executed, should he go and grab Colin now. Steven ran over to where he saw the rocks and heaved up the largest one he could find. He ran with strength that he didn't have, working with borrowed energy to drop the rock in between the doorway. The doors stopped, and Steven took his opportunity to get to Colin. Steven took Colin's arm around the back of his neck and lifted him up off the ground. But by the time He had Colin upright, he felt a strong jolt as the elevator started lifting, even with the doors still open.  
Stevens breath couldn't have felt heavier.  
Colin felt heavy.  
Everything felt just about heavy.  
Steven closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and ran forward, Colin in tow, just as the elevator was almost back inside the wall. He pushed so far out of the elevator, he didn't have anywhere to walk. He fell a short distance, and landed on the leaf and grass covered ground below.

* * *

When Steven woke up, a dizzy, shaking sensation throbbed in his head. His vision felt blurred as he regained his senses. He had gone unconscious. He sat up, arms behind his back and feet sprawled out forward, and looked around him.  
The sun was setting.  
"Colin, we should get shelter, or anything, lets-" Steven stopped talking to himself.

Colin was gone. Steven sprung up to his feet, eyes wide open to look around. He looked frantically about, and tried to confirm his memory. "I swear I got him out. I swear," Steven looked at where the elevator was last seen. There was just a wall, the elevator shaft sealed up mechanically so it didn't provide a way for anyone - or anything - to climb up into the town. Steven tried to collect himself. maybe Colin went on ahead, Steven thought - but why would he leave him behind? Steven tried to look around for anything to help him. He had to get to shelter - before anything got to him.

* * *

Steven walked for as long as he could, mixed in with speed walking here and there. He was sick of walking. He wanted the walking to stop - and that's when his prayer was answered, for better or for worse.  
He was on a small cliff. He fell to his knees and crawled to the edge and tried to peer over. Not too far of a drop, if he could shimmy down the edge, he thought, he could keep moving. All he had to do was quickly crawl down, place his footing carefully, and after three quick seconds he would be on the ground again. At this point, he was getting used to hanging on for dear life, and began to push his body over the cliffs edge.  
That's when it gave way.  
Steven let go of the disappearing cliff edge, covered his face with his forearms, and tumbled down with the dirt and rocks. He knew he would live from something like this, he just didn't think it would hurt so much. He began to roll as the cliff became less steep, and once he stopped, found himself face up with his body all strung out. He checked, limb by limb, finger by finger, to see if anything was broken. He sensed no other pain and got up.  
Was this it for him? Reduced to crawl around for shelter until death? Steven tried to push himself to keep looking. He couldn't find a reason to want to. He was ready to give up, until a torch was lit, not far from him.

"Oh my god!" Colin exclaimed, as he ran to a shaken, dirty, and bruised Steven. "Boy am I glad to see you! You won't believe what I -"

Steven punched him in the face, square in the cheek.

Colin moved with the impact, almost dropping the torch.  
"Are... Are you serious?" Colin coughed up the words, trying to understand what he did wrong.  
"Whats wro-"  
"You left me, to fucking die, after I saved your sorry ass. I'm outside of the fucking city, because I tried to save you. You left me alone, and I almost died falling down a cliff. And this is what you say?!"  
"I was on my to get you. I went to look for shelter-"  
"That is bullshit, and you know it! You are cruel, you know that? I am here because of you! If I wasn't so fucking nice for people, I could still be in town, minding my own business!"  
"I-"  
"What. What do you have to say, other than 'gee, look who turned up!'"  
"I... I found shelter, torches and everything."  
Steven saw the natural light of the sun had already begun its final minutes.  
"I'll apologize later," Steven spouted, "but lets get out of here. Now!"  
Colin nodded, and began the tireless sprint into the darkness, racing their way to their only hope.

* * *

Steven ran with only the the torch light to guide him, he could barely see anything in front of him; it was a miracle that he hadn't tripped yet.  
Steven was amazed at how far Colin had explored without him.  
Colin stopped at a mound of dirt, and handed Steven the torch.  
"What are you doing?"  
"It was right here, I swear!"  
Steven brought the torch closer to Colin, to help him find god knows what.  
"Here! Here, get in!"  
Colin pointed to a wooden hatch. Steven saw no reason to hesitate, and climbed down. What he found was like excavating a lost civilization; Steven was in awe. The torch revealed a workbench, a makeshift bed, a chest, and some coal, which was piled up in a corner of the shelter. Colin was inside now, and had locked the hatch shut. He grabbed the torch from Steven and placed it neatly in a carved out depression in the wall. Steven looked about, and realized, the entire shelter was made of dirt, just dug out and made into a temporary home. Steven couldn't believe how fortunate they were. while Steven still had his doubts, he was going to have to take it if he wanted to live.  
Colin spoke up before Steven could say anything.  
"So, what do you think? Not a bad find, huh?" Colin was beaming with success.  
Steven thought carefully about what to ask, whether it was about security of the hatch, who was the previous owner, or how much supplies the shelter held.  
"I think-"

Loud, extremely fast feet sped over the hatch. It didn't sound human, and it was to fast to be a mob. Steven and Colin both looked up at the dirt ceiling, with weak, wooden planks fixed in place, holding it up. dirt fell onto Stevens head.

A growl was heard. Loud , ferocious, and coarse.

Steven and Colin did not sleep,

they did not talk,

and they barely moved for the rest of the night.

Whatever was above them, knew they were below.


	3. III

**oh my god chapter 3 preview! this'll tide you crazy bums over for a bit while i finish typing it, why not follow it while you are here? it takes a second anyway, god stop complaining and just click the follow button**

**also i like reviews. hint hint**

The following morning, Steven and Colin didn't hear any more growling. They sat and whispered to each other for the entire time; a deadly amount of adrenaline and fear mixed together in the small dirt bunker. Steven had a bit of dirt in his hair, not only from his tumble down the cliff, but from the ceiling. slowly but surely, he thought, it was crumbling above him.

Colin and Steven had made a plan. They knew someone had to go up the ladder to check if the creature above was still there. However, peeking up above was to risk a life. Anything could happen to them. The bunker was extremely hot; beads of sweat were trickling down Colin's pale white face. his strained, blue eyes were weighed down by the bags under his eyelids. Both Steven and Colin were staring at their hands, about to decide one another's fate with a simple gesture.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Colin whispered, skeptically.

"How else? We can't stay here forever."

"I know, I know," Colin stammered, "but are we really going to decide with _this_?" Colin gestured at his hands.  
"Let's just do it. On the count of three,"

"One." Colin took a deep breath; dirty, dusty oxygen filtered in his lungs.

"Two." Steven had his planned action already in mind, already trying to think two steps ahead.

"Three!"

Colin drew scissors.

Steven drew paper.

* * *

Stevens head sprung up and out of the bunker hatch. His head swiveled left and right, quickly peering about for anything that looked dangerous. He looked about the canopy to see if they were being stalked from above. Steven ducked back down into the bunker, while Colin, anxiously waiting for answers, stood behind him.

"What do you see?"

"I don't think whatever that thing was is still there."

"How can you tell? You didn't see it?"

Steven paused and thought of a way to prove it to his friend.

"Well, I'm not _dead_, am I?"

"don't jinx it," Colin warned.

"Fine. I think we are safe though."

Colin and Steven were sore from the tense feeling throughout the night. Now, finally able to move about without too much worry, Steven walked over to the workbench and inspected it for anything useful, while Colin almost immediately fell onto the makeshift bed, and sighed loudly. Steven stopped searching for things to help them, and thought with an overwhelming amount of force, about the words he was going to say. Steven kept facing the wall in front of him as he spoke.

"I'm sorry..." His voice got quiet in a heartbeat, but he knew he couldn't just stop talking right there. This time, he tried to be louder.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? We are livin' large in a protected shelter! Why would you-"

"I just wanted to say sorry for flipping out at you last night. I was... I was scared, okay? I didn't want to-"

"Wait, you think you are the only one scared out of their mind right now? Last night was scary for me too, ya know."

"I... I didn't think about that. I'm really sorry, Colin."

"Don't get all emotional with me." Colin, still lying in the bed, was beaming, although he didn't show it. He wanted to keep cool and show Steven that he is capable of being calm and collected too.

Steven smiled, and then the chest caught the corner of his eye.

"Also, Colin, what did you find in the chest over here anyway?"

Colin fumbled with his words, caught off guard because he forgot to check something so simple yet so vital. "I, uh, didn't look through it. Yet. Err, I was going to."

Steven raised an eyebrow at Colin's remark, got down on his knees, and opened up the chest.

Steven nearly fell backwards.

A sword, a compass, a sundial of some sort, as well as a small book were nestled tightly inside.

Steven blinked twice, making sure his vision was correct.

Colin sat up in the solid bed, and yawned as he began to speak. "So... Watchya find?"

Steven picked up the book, and methodically opened the cover.

"...Steven?"

There was no use trying to respond - Steven was entranced by his findings. He had the book cover opened up, the table of contents exposed for his eyes to peruse.

He read aloud.

"Chapter one." Stevens voice shook with excitement and nervousness.

"how to survive on this side of the wall."

* * *

_Chapter one_

_How to survive on this side of the wall_

_Hello, you poor soul. Welcome to hell on earth, where the criminals run wild and the good guys die first. This chapter will cover the must-know necessities to survive here. Let me get this out of the way: whatever lifestyle you were so comfortable with on the inside of the wall, is gone. obliterated, and decimated. If you are the kind of person who is afraid to get their hands dirty, or you can't comprehend the idea of being without your precious, systematic way of living, then you should put this book down, lock up everything and leave this hideout to someone who needs it. Then, go stand outside and wait for night. The spiders will take care of you quickly. Allow me to explain. The reason those walls were built were to keep the spiders out. But there is something called evolution here. Theses 'spiders' are extremely agile and aggressively hostile. Not to mention, they are, uh... a little bigger than what is normally considered a bug. The creatures you will encounter will vary, many being strange and unearthly, as well as abnormally fast and powerful. However, these creatures only appear at night. The real monsters you should worry about is the people you meet here. Everyone moves in the daytime, to avoid getting killed by the creatures. But every now and then, someone crosses paths with someone. And things can be ugly or friendly. A rule of thumb: don't trust anyone. Maybe they offer food, maybe they lower their weapon. You can trust them if you want, but it's your life that is at risk. _

_The hard part is getting used to this new life. It will never end. You will never get back inside the town. Accept this now and it will make everything else that much easier. _

_Maybe you are wondering why we would help you. Well, we are trying to create a settlement south of here. Every month we restock these bunkers - the one you are standing in, for example - but there is not enough to keep someone alive until the supply teams arrive__. It is not worth risking if you sit and wait. You will starve, or probably give away the fact that these bunkers are easy food for the creatures. By the way, we call the creatures here mobs. In this chest that you opened, you will find a good amount of starter supplies. However, there is only enough to keep one person alive. Maybe you can gather enough supplies to fashion a stick to a rock. But if you use this book correctly, you could create an entire armory. The reason we do not have enough supplies for more than one person is because the resupply teams can only bring so much with them each trip. Please, forgive us for that. Oh, and once again, welcome to this side of the wall._


End file.
